Guard for the nips of rolls in calenders and the like

A guard for an elongated nip of first and second rolls which have substantially cylindrical peripheral surfaces and spaced apart parallel axes of rotation and are installed in a machine wherein the first and second rolls are respectively rotatable in first and second bearings and at least one of said bearings is movable relative to the other bearing to vary the spacing of the axes, comprising a support at one side of the nip;

• a first elongated barrier provided on said support in substantial parallelism with the nip and defining with the peripheral surface of the first roll a first clearance having a first maximum width;
• a second elongated barrier provided on said support in substantial parallelism with the nip and defining with the peripheral surface of the second roll a second clearance having a second maximum width;
• means for connecting said support to the first bearing, said connecting means defining for the support a pivot axis which is at least substantially parallel to the nip;
• and means for pivoting said support about said pivot axis in response to movement of the at least one bearing relative to the other bearing, said pivoting means comprising a first abutment on the second bearing and a second abutment on said support, one of said abutments having a cam face which is tracked by the other of said abutments.